Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has declared that the Pakistani state cannot be held hostage by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), as security forces continue operations to recover the hostages from the Jaffar Express attack.
In an interview with a private TV channel, the senior Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader and federal minister stated that the insurgent group is challenging the state’s authority, and accepting their demands would only embolden them. Speaking on journalist Mansoor Ali Khan’s program, Asif reaffirmed that Pakistan would not negotiate under duress, warning that meeting the “militants’” demands would set a dangerous precedent.
“We cannot allow anyone to take our people hostage and then dictate terms to us. Tomorrow, they will abduct more people and demand the release of their operatives in exchange. This is unacceptable,” he said.
The minister confirmed that security personnel were among the captives and acknowledged reports of casualties among the forces. However, he dismissed any possibility of negotiating a prisoner exchange, stating that the state would respond to insurgents on its own terms.
“Balochistan is in a state of insurgency and war, and the state will engage with militants in a manner befitting a conflict situation,” Asif added.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) had earlier claimed responsibility for the attack on the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express near Bolan, where insurgents detonated explosives on the tracks before seizing over 182 passengers. In its statement, the group claimed it had released all civilians, including women, children, and elderly individuals, while holding 150 active-duty security personnel as war prisoners. The BLA also claimed that 100 security forces personnel had been killed in the attack.
The Pakistani government states that the BLA had seized almost 400 passengers as hostages, many of which were freed by the Pakistani security forces after multiple clashes with the insurgents. However, the earlier statements by the BLA state that the group had only taken 182 active duty personnel as hostages and set everyone else free. This was proven true from the statements of the freed passengers posted on the internet soon after the attack, where they say that the BLA fighters had set them free. They were not ‘rescued’ by the Pakistani forces, but had travelled on foot to the nearest railway station on their own.
The BLA has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the government, demanding the release of Baloch missing persons and political prisoners in exchange for the hostages.